pecans

I don’t know about you but I love waking up just to have breakfast. It really is my favourite meal if the day!

Breakfast needn’t take forever to prepare and this is one of the quickest recipes to ensure you get plenty of your 5-a-day in terms of fruit in whilst the yoghurt, nuts and seeds provide protein and all important essential minerals.

Like this:

These slices are a take on a previous recipe of mine but I’ve used my favourite date & banana caramel here. The caramel is a great recipe to have as I use it in lots of recipes like Fruit & Nut Caramel Squares and Salted Peanut & Date Caramel Brownies. It’s really easy to make and no refined sugar in sight. It also keeps fresh for at least 2 weeks in an airtight jar in the fridge.

The secret to this recipe is not to overcook the apples, you literally just want to gently poach them, leaving a little bite once they have baked in the oven.

Makes 12.

150g ground almonds

140g spelt wholemeal flour

2 tbsp honey

125g chilled butter, cubed

150g dates

1/2 tsp baking soda

2 small bananas

8 tbsp coconut oil, melted

2 tbsp nut butter

5 small apples, peeled & cored

1 tbsp flaked almonds

Preheat an oven to 160°C and line a rectangular baking tray with parchment.

Place all the almonds, flour and honey in a large mixing bowl and rub through the butter until it resembles breadcrumbs.

Transfer to the lined baking tray and flatten evenly with the back of a spoon.

Bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes until the base begins to turn golden.

For the date caramel: place the softened, drained dates in a measuring jug or blender with the bananas and melted coconut oil. Blitz until smooth, add the almond butter & blitz again.

Gently poach the apples by placing in a saucepan with just enough water to cover the bottom. Simmer with the lid on over a low heat for 10 minutes. Keep a close eye on the apples as you don’t want mush.

Remove from the water and slice into wedges.

Spread the caramel over the base followed by the sliced apples. Scatter over the flaked almonds and bake in the oven for 30 minutes.

Allow to cool in the tray. Cut into squares once fully cooled and S tore in an airtight container in the fridge.